A Sister's Heart

Chapter 13

Ivy knew she still had to talk to Lauren, and she had been putting it off all day, making excuses about having to have a shower or cook the dinner. Both Diana and Veronica tried to push her to discuss the matter with her daughter throughout the afternoon, but she just fobbed them off. "Later." She would say, and each time she did, her sisters would just roll their eyes at her. But now, she was out of excuses and as she made her way up the stairs, her hands trembling, she realised that this was a conversation she should have had with Lauren a long time ago.

About to knock on her daughter's bedroom door, Ivy was surprised when it opened before she had had a chance and Lauren nearly walked right into her. "Mom, hey!" Her daughter exclaimed, a little startled, taking her headphones out.

"Hey Honey. I was hoping I could talk to you about what happened this morning when your Dad called." The fifteen-year-old looked confused, but stepped aside to let her Mom in.

Ivy took the seat at the desk while her daughter settled back onto her bed. Neither of them talking at first; Ivy unsure where to start, and Lauren waiting for her to.

Finally, Ivy spoke. "Okay, here goes." Taking a deep breath, she explained to Lauren everything that had happened with her marriage that led her to her decision to leave Brad. Of course, she left out some of the more horrific details, but left enough to make it clear that she felt she had no choice. As she spoke, tears streamed down her face.

Lauren stood and made her way over to her Mom. "I knew something was wrong, but I had no idea." The words that came from her daughter's mouth shocked Ivy. Hearing her say that she knew something was wrong wracked her with guilt that she could have done more, could have gotten them out sooner. She wanted to say something, but no words came; instead, there were just more tears. Lauren wrapped her arms around Ivy and held on tight.

The two of them sat there in silence as Ivy cried until she couldn't anymore. It was a rare moment between mother and daughter, one that filled Ivy's heart with so much love that it felt fit to burst. Of course, she had felt that way before, but with Lauren; not in a long time. Matthew was younger than his sister, so was not above the odd sentimental hug from his mother.

There was a knock on the door, but no one entered. Slowly, Ivy released herself from her daughter's embrace and moved to open the door. "Everything okay in here?" Alexis looked past her Aunt to her cousin, whose face was still red and puffy from crying.

"It's good." Ivy said before lowering her voice so that only her niece could hear. "I think she might need someone to talk to." Wiping her eyes, she moved forward to allow Alexis to comfort Lauren.

Leaving the girls to talk, Ivy went straight to her own room and closed the door, collapsing onto her bed. She hoped, or rather, she silently prayed, that the next few minutes would go uninterrupted and that she could cry in peace.

*****

Alexis waited for her Aunt Ivy to leave before she spoke, eyeing that her cousin was still upset. "Hey Laur, you wanna talk?" Her voice remained calm so as not to come across as too pushy. Having been raised by a single Mom herself, she knew enough about putting on a brave face to write a book.

"I don't know." Tears began to fall again.

"It's okay. You don't have to, but I am here if you need me." Alexis hung back by the window wanting Lauren to decide for herself what she wanted to do, and she would be there for her no matter what that was. She had always looked out for her cousin, thinking of her as more of a younger sister sometimes.

A sniffle preceded the words as Lauren readied herself to respond. "No. I want to tell you. I just... I just don't know how." She wiped her tears away, but the stained tracks remained on her face as she moved to her bed and hugged a pillow to her chest.

Staying where she was, Alexis' voice was soft as she spoke. "Take your time. I'm not going anywhere."

After a few moments, Lauren began. "Mu Mom just told me the whole story about why she left my Dad and now I don't know what to do." It all came spilling out and the tears came harder than before, and they kept coming until she was hugging the pillow so tight that her nails were on the verge of tearing the fabric.

It would be an understatement to say that Alexis was shocked at the revelation. She hadn't been all that close to her Uncle Brad, but not in a million years did she think it possible that he would be the kind of person to a***e his wife. She didn't know what to say, so she didn't say anything. She simply sat next to her cousin on the bed and wrapped her arms around her, allowing Lauren to rest her head on her shoulder and cry.

Slowly, Lauren began to release her grip on the pillow, her tears slowed, and her breathing eased enough that she could talk again. "What do I do now? About my Dad, I mean. How can talk to him after what he has done to my Mom?" Her voice was shaky and the question completely valid, yet neither of them had the answer.

The best Alexis could do was to try and offer some support. "You don't have to do anything right now. Wait until he calls again and then decide in the moment. You'll know when you know!" It was all she could say, and she hoped it helped. It seemed to make some sort of impact as when Lauren turned her head, there was a small smile on her face. It was faint, but it was there.

"Maybe, but I do think I need to think about it some more." The two of them were facing each other now and the maturity in her cousin's voice made Alexis proud. "Thank you. I really mean it. Thank you for listening to me vent and for letting me cry all over your sweater." Lauren tried to laugh it off, but it came out as more of a half snort, half giggle, which only made them laugh that much harder.

A few minutes passed and once they had calmed down, Alexis spoke again. "Look, I'm here for whatever you need, and I'm glad you confided in me about this. I won't say anything, but chances are that your Mom already told my Mom and Aunt Ronnie."

Lauren hadn't even thought of that, but now that Alexis had mentioned it, she realised that she didn't have to take care of her Mom on her own; her Aunts had her Mom's back, Alexis had hers, and together they would get through it.

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Author's Note - Hope you like this chapter and please let me know what you think x